1. Field of the Invention
A stuffed bendable doll.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Stuffed dolls provide a great deal of happiness and enjoyment for children, especially for small children, since a stuffed doll simulates, to a greater or lesser extent, the feel and resiliency of an actual living person or character. Thus, the simulation of playing with a living person or character rather than with an inanimate object is attained to a certain extent, and greater enjoyment is provided to the child. Such dolls are readily produced at low cost, and these dolls are typically provided with a stuffing of foamed rubber or plastic, cotton, excelsior, sawdust, urethane, or any other soft material which provides a consistency and resilience. The covering of the stuffed doll is typically a layer of fabric skin in the desired shape, which may be composed of cloth such as cotton, wool, rayon, polyester, or the like, or the outer layer may be composed of thin plastic film such as polyvinyl chloride, polyethylene, polypropylene, or the like. Other materials of construction for the stuffing and skin may be utilized in suitable instances.
In any case, the skin or covering of the doll is usually either dyed or otherwise colored, or provided with suitable appurtenances such as pockets, to simulate the appearance of clothing. The head of the doll will usually be provided with simulated hair as well as appurtenances resembling eyes, nose, mouth and ears, so as to complete the simulation of a human being.
Bendable dolls are also extremely attractive to children, since in this case the limbs and/or the head and/or the torso may be bent by the child at play into a variety of dispositions and positions, so as to simulate a sitting doll, a standing doll, a walking doll, a doll with arms outstretched, etc., with internal structure being provided so that the doll, when once bent into a desired shape or position by the child, tends to remain in that shape or position. Such dolls are commonly known as posable dolls. However, the most common bendable doll does not have an internal frame, and in such dolls, the head and/or the limbs lack the inherent ability to remain in a set or desired position, i.e., unless the doll is externally supported, the head or limbs return to their original positions.
A stuffed bendable doll is shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,955,309 and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 807,928 filed June 21, 1977. Other dolls are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,866,350; 3,624,691 and 2,209,791.